Each brand has a different approach to their marketing strategy. Some prefer to emphasize social media and influencers; others want to engage with potential customers directly via emails or cold calls.
While identifying the best marketing plan is more or less impossible, some believe that advertising variety should be one of the cornerstones of a successful business. And it can incorporate things that seem simple. For example, GIFs.
GIF is an abbreviation for Graphics Interchange Format. You must have seen it on Facebook, Discord, and the internet in general.
Brands may include pre-existing GIFs or create GIFs themselves. There are mp4 to gif converters available online but do not hesitate to get desktop software if you prefer doing things that way.
Why to Use GIFs in Digital Marketing? Reasons & Benefits
The benefits of using GIFs in digital marketing may surprise you. Here are some reasons why brands should consider GIFs while promoting products or services.
Reason #1 – Cheaper Than Animation
Animated promotional videos that last for about one minute have become a popular method of advertisement. However, a brand that is only starting will look for ways to cut expenses and make the most out of the available budget.
Like already mentioned, figuring out how to create GIFs is not that difficult. And even if you hire someone to create higher-quality GIFs, you will not spend as much money as you would on an animator because GIFs are shorter and easier to create.
At the same time, if you have a specific budget in mind for this part of the marketing strategy, you could benefit more by spending the same amount on multiple GIFs instead of one animation, especially if you plan a long marketing campaign.
Reason #2 – Minds Process GIFs Quicker
The popularity of visual content, such as videos and animations, is a result of how our minds process visual information faster. Reading a text is a chore for an average person. On the other hand, images are universal, and people should not have problems understanding them regardless of their background.
Reason #3 – GIFs Cater to Short Attention Span
Continuing with the short attention span moment, GIFs are usually 5 to 10 seconds long. If someone stumbles upon a GIF while browsing the web, they are more likely to check it than they would an article.
If you are looking for an effective call-to-action button, it may be better to turn it into a GIF instead of a plain text that becomes boring after reading a few words.
Reason #4 – Multi-platform Availability
Having access to multiple platforms means that you can reach wider audiences. And it just so happens that GIFs are pretty flexible when it comes to usability.
You can add GIFS in email newsletters, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and even communication platforms like Discord. Moreover, you can create GIFs quickly through the bulk of GIF Maker Apps and Software available these days.
And the best part is that you can post GIFs with very few restrictions. Of course, spamming a channel will likely get you banned, but if you take the opportunities and not flood the feed of other people, expect to benefit from GIFs by quite a bit.
Reason #5 – Mobile-Friendliness
According to Statista, roughly 50% of internet traffic comes from smartphones and tablets. Thus, a well-rounded marketing plan should consider mobile devices as well.
Thankfully, GIFs are short, meaning that they do not require that much space, and uploading them does not take too long. Moreover, even if a smartphone or tablet has weaker hardware than computers, mobile devices should not have problems loading GIFs because they are easy to process. Even if you decide to include a couple of GIFs on your website, do not worry about them slowing down a page’s loading speed.
Reason #6 – Better Audience Engagement
Engaging customers is one of the goals of a marketing strategy. And since an eye-catching GIF is more likely to receive attention than a wall of text, brands will have an easier time engaging their audience.
You must have seen some companies posting GIFs promoting products. For example, makeup artists show off quick results in a 10-second GIF, or models walk a podium wearing a dress. This quick glance is easy to process for an average person, and if they like what they see, people will seek to find further information about products or services they see in GIFs.
Reason #7 – Opportunity to Show Brand’s Personality
Given how widely used GIFs are, your brand should jump on this train as well and show that it is not behind the times. Keeping up with the latest trends is a good piece of advice in business because failing to do so leads to losing customers.
After all, the competition that has implemented GIFs in their advertising strategy will have the upper hand over those who ignore GIFs.
